Spare a thought for young Ryan Campbell
Courtesy the Oz overnight:
“Wishing Ryan Campbell a speedy and complete recovery.."
...and condolences to Mr Gary Turnbull's family & friends RIP.
P2
Courtesy the Oz overnight:
Quote:Young pilot fights for life after Queensland plane crashRepeating the words of the Albion Park AAL...
- Jessica Grewal
- The Australian
- December 29, 2015 12:00AM
1 dead, 1 injured in vintage plane crash0:54
One person was killed and another seriously injured when a vintage plane crashed in a paddock north of the Gold Coast this morning. Courtesy: Richard Gosling
He was the youngest pilot to fly around the world but last night Ryan Campbell was facing a bigger challenge: battling critical injuries suffered in a Queensland plane crash that claimed the life of his passenger yesterday.
- December 28th 2015
- 19 hours ago
- /video/video.news.com.au/News/[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/news/content/v1/origin:video_integrator.djMzBzeTrkV8bb7MgHCAGm67Xtp70eSY?t_product=video&t_template=../video/player[/img]
The record-breaking pilot, who at 19 inspired a generation when he flew around the world in 70 days, was flying a vintage yellow Tiger Moth when it plummeted to the ground near Norwell, about 30km north of Surfers Paradise.
His 58-year-old passenger, Gary Turnbull of Coutts Crossing in northern NSW, died at the scene.
Early investigations suggested the plane got into trouble soon after takeoff from the rural airstrip, crashing within view of the Tiger Moth Joy Rides hangar, where Mr Turnbull’s daughter was reportedly waiting.
Emergency Services confirmed the young pilot phoned 000 from the cockpit. “The aircraft had landed in a tall grass area close to a tree line, the patient was entrapped by legs and hanging outside the aircraft,” a Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said. He was trapped for almost an hour before being flown to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.
A picture of the 21-year-old Mr Campbell flying the Tiger Moth over the Gold Coast, where he recently moved, was posted just a week ago on his Facebook page.
As the news spread last night, friends and fans from his home town of Merimbula on the NSW south coast and beyond took to social media to wish him well.
Australian Air League Albion Park, based at Wollongong, where he started and finished his epic journey in 2013, posted: “Wishing Ryan Campbell a speedy and complete recovery. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you, your family and the others involved in the crash”.
It’s the second time tragedy has befallen the joy-ride company in as many years. Pilot Alex “Jimmy” Rae and a French tourist were killed when the restored Tiger Moth they had taken off in from the Norwell airstrip crashed in waters off South Stradbroke Island in December 2013. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau report found rods joining the wings to the plane were faulty. The company was eventually sold and began operating again earlier this year.
Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Greg Brake told the ABC he did not know whether yesterday’s crash occurred during “a paid-for joy flight or something else”.
A spokesman for Civil Aviation Safety Authority confirmed it had been alerted to yesterday’s crash and would await further information from the bureau before “making any judgments about whether we look at it further”.
Tiger Moth Joy Rides did not respond to requests for comment.
“Wishing Ryan Campbell a speedy and complete recovery.."
...and condolences to Mr Gary Turnbull's family & friends RIP.
P2